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Swisher council to apply for state tree grant and approves emergency park tree removals
Summary
Council authorized applying for the IDNR Community Forest Grant to replace trees lost in rights-of-way and partnered with the Park and Recreation Board for Castek Park trees, and approved a $5,000 emergency removal of storm-damaged and dead trees at Castek Park.
The Swisher City Council on July 22 authorized staff to apply for an Iowa Department of Natural Resources Community Forest Grant to replace trees lost in street rights-of-way and on city property, and approved emergency removals at Castek Park.
HR Green engineer Melissa Clow briefed the council on the IDNR grant program, which can fund replacement plantings in street rights-of-way and on other municipal land. Council member Michael Stagg moved and Adam Roeder seconded a motion to apply for the grant with assistance from HR Green and in partnership with the Park and Recreation Board for trees lost in Castek Park; the motion passed unanimously.
Because two trees were damaged in the July 15 storm and two other trees previously reported as dead created an immediate safety hazard ahead of the city’s Fun Days events, the council approved an emergency estimate of $5,000 from L. Miller Landscaping for removal of the four trees, to be paid from the General Fund–Parks (motion by Kody Pudil, seconded by Adam Roeder). The city reported the removals would begin Tuesday, July 23.
The grant application and the emergency removals are related but separate: the grant would support replanting lost trees over time, while the emergency contract addresses immediate safety and event-timing concerns.
